Re: [Harp-L] "Baritone" chromatic

I'm ignorant of the range classification of instruments but I've done enough choral singing to have an idea of what male vocal ranges are.

Tenor parts can go as high as the C above middle C. I'm not sure about the low point but the C below middle C seems close enough. Some tenors can go higher than the high C.

Bass parts range between the E below the staff in the bass clef to the E above middle C. A lot of baritones can hit the G or A above middle C.

FWIW, when my mom was in high school she sang mostly alto but was sometimes drafted to sing tenor or second soprano. She had no problem with either. Women generally have wider ranges than men, all other things being equal.

I'm sidestepping the use of overtones to extend the vocal range. Some folks can do it although the timbre is different from the "natural" voice.



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Colin Fulton wrote: 
Ok people look at this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basso scroll
down and there are pictures of each range as defined by the human
voice range. Infact there is no real definition of each one, for
instance, for singing basses there is basso baritone, which is basic
bass range but more high notes, and there is basso profondo (my
favorite) which is your ultra low. So there is middle C on the piano.
Tenor range is between that and the C around one octave bellow middle
C. If you move that range down an octave you have bass. Baritone is in
between these two. Contrabass ends on the C 3 octaves bellow middle C,
that is as low as Hohners "bass" harmonica's go. Then bellow that is
what I think is called Octocontrabass, which is just ridiculously low,
and there are names for the things under that, but they are so
incredibly low that you can just call them "frikken low" and if anyone
can make a harmonica that can go to octocontrabass or bellow, I would
buy it in a snap (if anyone from Seydel or Hohner or a custom harp
building is listening) There is no definites on this though, and alto
crosses over into soprano, tenor into alto, bass into tenor etc. (None
of these ranges are definite, it varies from instrument to instrument
they are just general names)

I hope that cleared things up a bit and didn't spark more discussion.


On 1/3/06, Jonathan R. Ross <jross38@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

First, let's define some terms.  If we accept the pitch generally
referred to as middle C as being the lowest note on a standard 48 or
12-hole chromatic in the key of C, then the correct term for the lowest
note on a 64 or 16-hole chromatic would be tenor C.  The next octave
below would be termed "baritone" C and below that again is bass C.
Which brings us to this:

http://www.seydel1847.de/epages/Seydel.storefront/;Locale=en_GB?ObjectPa
th=/Shops/Seydel/Products/51482/SubProducts/51482LC

Note the following sentence:

"Here our Low Chroms, exactly one Oktave below the 'Standard' tuning."

Then there is this:

http://coast2coastmusic.com/cgi-bin/cart/HE6148.html

While both of these are called "Baritone" by name, they are the same
range as what Hohner has traditionally (and correctly, IMO) called
"tenor" tuning.  I have many tenor-tuned harmonicas, and for a 12-hole
instrument I much prefer this range to the standard one.

But, neither of these are in fact "baritone" tuned instruments according
to the criteria Michael brought up: a chromatic tuned two octaves below
middle C, ie, a chromatic tuned two octaves below the lowest note on a
48 in C or one octave below a 64 in C.  Both of the above harmonicas,
despite their names, are still an octave too high in pitch to fit the
criteria of a true "baritone" instrument as Michael, Winslow and myself
(and others) have dreamed existed.

It may be possible to make one with existing reed-plates, but I think
the results would not be nearly as user-friendly as reeds, slots, covers
and such purposely designed for this range.  I have several of the
Seydel low-low-tuned diatonics, and as much as I enjoy them they are not
the most easily playable of instruments.  Part of that, I would guess,
is due to the fact that the reeds are being made to work at a pitch
significantly lower than the ideal for the scale reed would predict.  If
you had reeds scaled specifically for that range, rather than tuned down
from standard, I would expect better performance.  (note--the Seydels
are wonderful harps and if anyone wants to explore the truly low
territory on a standard diatonic or just have some fun I highly
recommend getting them)

There are several companies out there right now which are rather
adventurous in their pursuit of new markets and new designs.  Hering,
Seydel and Suzuki have all shown a willingness to try new things to suit
customer demand.  Hopefully some company will decide to give a
purpose-built baritone chromatic a try, as I know I'd buy one in a
second (indeed, that was the case when Suzuki made a purpose-built
tremolo chromatic--I bought one as soon as I found a good source).

BTW, Winslow is, as usual, correct in remembering that baritone-range
Polyphonia as being model No. 7.  I know because I just checked mine.
Wonderful instrument, but like all the Polyphonia models not the easiest
to play much besides chromatic runs, IMO.




oo    JR "Bulldogge" Ross
()()   & Snuffy, too:)
`--'




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